CAIRO: The Legislative Committee of the Egyptian Parliament endorsed, during its meeting last week, headed by Speaker Fathi Sorour, a draft law on combating human trafficking. In comments to local media, Sorour demanded “real reform” on litigation of perpetrators. He said that “if we really wanted to achieve this reform, there must be a second degree of litigation in criminal courts, as did a number of Arab Countries, while Egypt is lagging behind in this field.” The considerations of the law have raised controversy on some articles of the proposed draft law, including article 14, which states the punishment of all those who commit any of the offenses of trafficking in persons with “rigorous imprisonment, which is to be not less than 7 years and not exceeding twenty years and a fine of not less than 50,000 [Egyptian] pounds and not more than 200,000 [Egyptian] pounds.” Sorour rejected the adoption of a 20-year sentence as a penalty for human trafficking. “I am committed to the principles used by the Egyptian legislation. I do not want to veer from that, this punishment is abnormal in the Penal Code,” he said. The recommended that the penalty for anyone who commits the crime of trafficking of “life imprisonment and and a fine will be not less than 100,000 pounds and not more than 500,000 pounds, if the offender has established or organized or managed an organized criminal group for purposes of trafficking in persons.” The committee decided to delete article 17 of the draft law on the punishment of the offenders for concealing objects or funds received from the crimes of trafficking in imprisonment for “not less than five years.” Sorour said this sentence made the crime of concealment of the most serious crimes more than terrorism, adding that the Penal Code punishes “those who hide those accused of murder punishable by death in prison and in Trafficking in Persons Act punishes the crime of helping offenders with imprisonment. I saw this as kind of extreme.” BM
